Bruce Ely/The OregonianDarron Thomas' mobility is an asset to his NFL hopes.

EUGENE -- Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas wants to play in the National Football League at some point, but he has some things to work on.

Thomas will be matched Saturday against Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in a 5 p.m. game at Stanford Stadium, ABC/KATU (2).

Many think Luck will be the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

Rob Rang, senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com had some observations about Thomas.

"He is so perfectly suited for Chip Kelly's offense and his production is so high in that offense, it might lead people to think he has a better chance than he might have," Rang said. "A lot of his passes are touch passes. I have some reservations about whether he can carve up an NFL defense the way he does a college defense."

But Rang thinks Thomas has a shot.

"His mechanics seem sound enough," Rang said. "They could definitely use a little bit of fine-tuning. He has a tendency to drop his back foot at times. He doesn't have a great arm. It's good enough, but it's not something that wows you."

Rang loves Thomas' mobility, which is a factor that is increasingly important in the NFL as the pro offenses adopt more spread sets and defenses turn to more pressure packages.

"I think that is one of the most important things he has going for him -- not only his ability to get yardage as he scrambles, but his ability to buy time in the pocket," Rang said. "That's one of the things that is nice about him. He's not one of those guys just looking to run with the football. He's looking to buy time with his feet while keeping his eyes downfield."

But Rang wants to see a bigger arm.

"If he had a little bit more of a laser, he might be able to take more advantage of it," Rang said of Thomas' mobility. "Most of the passes he makes when he buys time are 20- to 30-yard throws. I haven't seen him really drive the ball through holes in coverage, and NFL defenses will make him do that."

"He's not a 'natural' -- quote/unquote -- passer," Helfrich said. "He is a lot better and will continue to get better because he is working at it."

There are times when Thomas doesn't look particularly accurate. But he is completing 60 percent of his passes.

The times when Thomas looks worse, Helfrich said, are when he is throwing away the ball.

"It looks haphazard sometimes," Helfrich said. "But we would much rather have the ball hit in lane 2 than have the other team have it. ... There are mechanical things he can work and improve upon -- a ton of things he can improve upon."

Steve Gress of the Corvallis Gazette-Times: Missing from Kelly's resume -- a signature road victory over a good team.

George Schroeder of the R-G: The Ducks won't have top billing on ESPN College GameDay Saturday when the show visits The Farm. Anybody want to bet that Condoleezza Rice is the celebrity picker? True story: she and I were briefly in the same church youth group as teenagers.

ESPN.com Pac-12 guru Ted Miller says Stanford has been waiting for an entire year to square accounts with Oregon.

Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com: The true Pac-12 title game will unfold Saturday in Stanford Stadium.

Bill Trocchi of SI.com breaks down the Oregon-Stanford game, and picks the Ducks to win by a field goal.

Patrick Malee of the Oregon Daily Emerald: Oregon and Stanford programs are on different trajectories.

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times: Classic brawn vs. speed matchup between Stanford and Oregon. And, when was the last time Stanford cut the grass?

Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic: Oregon-Stanford is the showcase game for the new Pac-12.

Connor Ennis of the New York Times: Countless Stanford alums would have died to see this.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com: No offense LSU, but this week's games are sexier.